Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
A number of people taking part in a protest against police brutality have reportedly been shot dead or wounded in Nigeria’s biggest city, Lagos.
Witnesses said up to 12 people were killed and others wounded when soldiers opened fire. Amnesty International said it had “credible reports” of deaths.
The state governor said about 25 people had been wounded but denied there were any fatalities.
An indefinite 24-hour curfew has been imposed on Lagos and other regions.
Protests over a now-disbanded police unit – the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (Sars) – have been taking place for two weeks, with demonstrators using the social media hashtag #EndSars to rally crowds.
As tensions continued to rise on Wednesday, police in different districts of Lagos fired shots in the air to disperse protesters defying the curfew, the BBC’s Nduka Orjinmo reports from the capital, Abuja.
Protesters who briefly gathered again at the Lekki toll gate – where Tuesday’s shootings took place – were forced out by police, he adds.
President Muhammadu Buhari has appealed for “understanding and calm”.